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Tenderheaded: A Comb-Bending Collection of Hair Stories
In this “outstanding volume” ( Boston Herald ) that “ought to be at the top of everyone’s must-read list” ( Essence ), Black women and men evocatively explore what could make a smart woman ignore doctor’s orders; what could get a hardworking employee fired from her job; what could get a black woman in hot water with her white boyfriend? In a hair.
In a society where beauty standards can be difficult if not downright unobtainable for many Black women, the issue of hair is a major one. Now, in this evocative and fascinating collection of essays, poems, excerpts, and more, Tenderheaded speaks to the personal, political, and cultural meaning of Black hair.
From A’Leila Perry Bundles, the great-granddaughter of hair care pioneer Madam C.J. Walker celebrating her ancestor’s legacy, to an art historian exploring the moving ways in which Black hair has been used to express Yoruba spirituality, to renowned activist Angela Davis questioning how her message of revolution got reduced to a hairstyle, Tenderheaded is as rich and diverse as the children of the African diaspora.
With works from authors including Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, bell hooks, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and more, this “remarkable array of writings and images” ( Publishers Weekly ) will stay with you long after you turn the final page.
In a society where beauty standards can be difficult if not downright unobtainable for many Black women, the issue of hair is a major one. Now, in this evocative and fascinating collection of essays, poems, excerpts, and more, Tenderheaded speaks to the personal, political, and cultural meaning of Black hair.
From A’Leila Perry Bundles, the great-granddaughter of hair care pioneer Madam C.J. Walker celebrating her ancestor’s legacy, to an art historian exploring the moving ways in which Black hair has been used to express Yoruba spirituality, to renowned activist Angela Davis questioning how her message of revolution got reduced to a hairstyle, Tenderheaded is as rich and diverse as the children of the African diaspora.
With works from authors including Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, bell hooks, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and more, this “remarkable array of writings and images” ( Publishers Weekly ) will stay with you long after you turn the final page.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
22 people are currently reading
319 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 15, 2021
Do you have relaxed hair, locs, straightened hair, balding,shaved, braids, natural, weave, wigs, gray, hair loss?
Have you experienced colorism, racism, preference, conditioning, colonization, style, childhood, trauma, choices, and identity issues? Then this book is for you. Where has this book my whole life? It is incredible. Every black woman (men too) of any hair choice is recognized in this book: the good, the bad, and the truth. I really do hope to receive this as a gift or purchase this. I want my children to have this glory of a collection in their library. To learn from and connect to.
From the ages 7 - 13 (2007-2013), I had natural styles, braids, and straightened hair. I remember the days of holding down my ear. Staying still like a statue. The smell of burning hair, grease, sprays, and sweat in the air. My hair would be shiny and styled so cute. I was okay with my short hair. When I watched tv, a lot of the princesses like ariel had long flowy hair. I would have blankets and towels on my head. Soon there will be a mermaid with locs on the scene. If little me knew that back then, I would have been thrilled.
Then in high school, I did not want my hair straightened anymore. I tried to stick to natural styles with my hair, braids, and crotchet styles. Every three years or so, I get it blow-dried straight or flat ironed and trimmed. I never keep it straight long. I think I look unattractive. Other people disagree. But it's my style, my face, my hair. Now I have my first wig. Soon I will get a curly brown blonde one.
I have never had a sew-in. I don't think I can afford nor care to maintain one. I adore watching for my hair with oils, clean and natural ingredients, and products. I enjoy wash day because I get to pamper my hair and myself.
My plan is when I am older and have my last child, I want to loc my hair. When I retire or feel very old, I want to shave my hair off. This book has inspired me in so many ways. I even felt more free taking out my braids reading this book. I felt more mindful all throughout wash day. I am not a braider. I cannot cornrow (yet!). My mom learned to do hair on me. I have a sneaky suspicion I will do the same thing. I can twist (two-strand and three-strand). I can style and find suitable products for my hair.
I am dark skin and have 4a,b, c mixture hair. In my Jamaican family, I have "Cooly" hair. Which is another way of saying good hair. I don't see it that way. I think all black hair loose to tight coils is beautiful because of what it can do EVERYTHING! No other people on earth are so blessed. It took me 2 hours to twist my hair small with an oiled scalp, 2 creams, and gel to last me a week of not touching my hair after taking out my braids and washing. I didn't get to deep condition this week. I was busy helping the family cook for my mom on mother's day. But this week I will deep condition. I plan to undo my twists, and eventually when it gets too unruly for me, I will spend two hours twisting it again, or my mom will do it for me. I try to not have her do it as much anymore. I am a big girl now. But there is nothing like oiling each other's scalp and twisting up each other's hair.
I recently started washing and styling my grandma's hair. From years of her coloring and relaxing her hair, she has bald spots and almost no hair. I am excited to turn gray. I have no plans to ever color it, but I will wear colored braids and wigs.
In conclusion, black women and men read this book. Whether you relax, are natural, or wear weaves and wigs, it's all love in this book...black love.
"This incredible book discusses the good, bad, and personal of relaxing, straightening, wigs, graying, weaves, braids, locs, bald, natural, the big chop, colorism, race, sexuality, and so on."
Excerpt: "What I learned was that a woman who is not treated really special as a girl works through that her whole life" Dekar's touch excerpt by Pamela Johnson."
Have you experienced colorism, racism, preference, conditioning, colonization, style, childhood, trauma, choices, and identity issues? Then this book is for you. Where has this book my whole life? It is incredible. Every black woman (men too) of any hair choice is recognized in this book: the good, the bad, and the truth. I really do hope to receive this as a gift or purchase this. I want my children to have this glory of a collection in their library. To learn from and connect to.
From the ages 7 - 13 (2007-2013), I had natural styles, braids, and straightened hair. I remember the days of holding down my ear. Staying still like a statue. The smell of burning hair, grease, sprays, and sweat in the air. My hair would be shiny and styled so cute. I was okay with my short hair. When I watched tv, a lot of the princesses like ariel had long flowy hair. I would have blankets and towels on my head. Soon there will be a mermaid with locs on the scene. If little me knew that back then, I would have been thrilled.
Then in high school, I did not want my hair straightened anymore. I tried to stick to natural styles with my hair, braids, and crotchet styles. Every three years or so, I get it blow-dried straight or flat ironed and trimmed. I never keep it straight long. I think I look unattractive. Other people disagree. But it's my style, my face, my hair. Now I have my first wig. Soon I will get a curly brown blonde one.
I have never had a sew-in. I don't think I can afford nor care to maintain one. I adore watching for my hair with oils, clean and natural ingredients, and products. I enjoy wash day because I get to pamper my hair and myself.
My plan is when I am older and have my last child, I want to loc my hair. When I retire or feel very old, I want to shave my hair off. This book has inspired me in so many ways. I even felt more free taking out my braids reading this book. I felt more mindful all throughout wash day. I am not a braider. I cannot cornrow (yet!). My mom learned to do hair on me. I have a sneaky suspicion I will do the same thing. I can twist (two-strand and three-strand). I can style and find suitable products for my hair.
I am dark skin and have 4a,b, c mixture hair. In my Jamaican family, I have "Cooly" hair. Which is another way of saying good hair. I don't see it that way. I think all black hair loose to tight coils is beautiful because of what it can do EVERYTHING! No other people on earth are so blessed. It took me 2 hours to twist my hair small with an oiled scalp, 2 creams, and gel to last me a week of not touching my hair after taking out my braids and washing. I didn't get to deep condition this week. I was busy helping the family cook for my mom on mother's day. But this week I will deep condition. I plan to undo my twists, and eventually when it gets too unruly for me, I will spend two hours twisting it again, or my mom will do it for me. I try to not have her do it as much anymore. I am a big girl now. But there is nothing like oiling each other's scalp and twisting up each other's hair.
I recently started washing and styling my grandma's hair. From years of her coloring and relaxing her hair, she has bald spots and almost no hair. I am excited to turn gray. I have no plans to ever color it, but I will wear colored braids and wigs.
In conclusion, black women and men read this book. Whether you relax, are natural, or wear weaves and wigs, it's all love in this book...black love.
"This incredible book discusses the good, bad, and personal of relaxing, straightening, wigs, graying, weaves, braids, locs, bald, natural, the big chop, colorism, race, sexuality, and so on."
Excerpt: "What I learned was that a woman who is not treated really special as a girl works through that her whole life" Dekar's touch excerpt by Pamela Johnson."
September 30, 2021
Excellent book - white people should have to read more books like this to acquaint themselves with things they don't understand.
February 17, 2020
Lovely!
This collection of short stories brought back so many memories of getting my hair pressed, relaxed and combed by my mom and grandma. :)
This collection of short stories brought back so many memories of getting my hair pressed, relaxed and combed by my mom and grandma. :)
March 15, 2020
Loved it! Essays, poems, photos, and narratives about experiences with Black hair. Would make a great gift for the beautician in your life.
April 11, 2022
Black Hair
WOW !!! What a great book on what black women and girls experience when it comes to hair. It was so enlightening about all types of styles and hair.
WOW !!! What a great book on what black women and girls experience when it comes to hair. It was so enlightening about all types of styles and hair.
October 13, 2024
Great book. Im going to give it to my daughter.
A great introduction to appreciating the cultural significance of black hair.
A great introduction to appreciating the cultural significance of black hair.
April 8, 2013
(FROM JACKET)tenderheaded
A Comb-Bending Collection of Hair Stories
What could make a smart woman ignore doctor's orders?
What could get a hardworking employee fired from her job?
What could get a black woman in hot water with her white boyfriend?
In a word...HAIR.
When does a few ounces feel like a like a few tons? When a doctor advises a black woman to start an exercise program and she wonders how she can do it without breaking a sweat. When an employer fires her for wearing a cultural hairstyle that's "unprofessional", and she has to go to court to plead for her job. When she's with her man, and the moment she's supposed to let loose, she stops to secure her head scarf so he doesn't disturb the 'do.
TENDERHEADED?
Yes, definitely. All black women are, in one way or another.
The issue is not only about looking good, but about feeling adequate in a society where the beauty standards are unobtainable for most women. TENDERHEADED boldly throws open the closet where black women's skeletons have been threatening to burst down the door. In poems, essays, cartoons, photos, and excerpts from novels and plays, women and men speak to the meaning hair has for them, and for society. In an intimate letter, A'Leila Perry Bundles pays tribute to her great-grandmother, hair-care pioneer Madam C.J. Walker, who launched a generation of African-American businesswomen. Corporate consultant Cheryl "Liv" Wright interviews men and women on the hilarious ways they handle "the hair issue" between the sheets. Art historian Henry John Drewal explores how hairstyles, in Yoruba culture, indicate spiritual destiny, and activist Angela Davis questions how her message of revolution got reduced to a hairstyle.
TENDERHEADED is as rich and diverse as the children of the African diaspora. With works by Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, bell hooks, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and other writers fo passion, persuasion, and humor-this is sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.
A Comb-Bending Collection of Hair Stories
What could make a smart woman ignore doctor's orders?
What could get a hardworking employee fired from her job?
What could get a black woman in hot water with her white boyfriend?
In a word...HAIR.
When does a few ounces feel like a like a few tons? When a doctor advises a black woman to start an exercise program and she wonders how she can do it without breaking a sweat. When an employer fires her for wearing a cultural hairstyle that's "unprofessional", and she has to go to court to plead for her job. When she's with her man, and the moment she's supposed to let loose, she stops to secure her head scarf so he doesn't disturb the 'do.
TENDERHEADED?
Yes, definitely. All black women are, in one way or another.
The issue is not only about looking good, but about feeling adequate in a society where the beauty standards are unobtainable for most women. TENDERHEADED boldly throws open the closet where black women's skeletons have been threatening to burst down the door. In poems, essays, cartoons, photos, and excerpts from novels and plays, women and men speak to the meaning hair has for them, and for society. In an intimate letter, A'Leila Perry Bundles pays tribute to her great-grandmother, hair-care pioneer Madam C.J. Walker, who launched a generation of African-American businesswomen. Corporate consultant Cheryl "Liv" Wright interviews men and women on the hilarious ways they handle "the hair issue" between the sheets. Art historian Henry John Drewal explores how hairstyles, in Yoruba culture, indicate spiritual destiny, and activist Angela Davis questions how her message of revolution got reduced to a hairstyle.
TENDERHEADED is as rich and diverse as the children of the African diaspora. With works by Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, bell hooks, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and other writers fo passion, persuasion, and humor-this is sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.
July 25, 2012
I really enjoyed this book.
HAIR is such a big deal to us. How it looks, what we allow the world to see vs. our private moments with our mane. It can make or break your day. So much pressure for a filamentous biomaterial that is technically dead...LOL
This book will conjure feelings fluctuating from pain to confusion to personal reminiscence to a cultural camaraderie. I was especially drawn to this book due to my personal feelings about hair. I loathe the idea of “good hair.” “Good hair" is hair that grows as far as I am concerned. It is a statement of beauty that is ever-changing and a representation of one’s self. I am saddened by how miscegenation produced women whose hair was considered “good” as it was straighter and softer in nature and appearance.
From long locks to relaxed short haircuts to weaves to natural cropped manes, as long as the hair enhances inner beauty...that’s all that matters. What this book reinforced for me is that hair and culture are two important components of an individual’s identity that should be deemed and respected as a form of personal expression. However, although hair and the styles we impose on it are an important part of individuality, they are not the sole component of what makes us unlike any one else.
May we all express ourselves through the beauty God has bestowed on us!! Excellent read!!
HAIR is such a big deal to us. How it looks, what we allow the world to see vs. our private moments with our mane. It can make or break your day. So much pressure for a filamentous biomaterial that is technically dead...LOL
This book will conjure feelings fluctuating from pain to confusion to personal reminiscence to a cultural camaraderie. I was especially drawn to this book due to my personal feelings about hair. I loathe the idea of “good hair.” “Good hair" is hair that grows as far as I am concerned. It is a statement of beauty that is ever-changing and a representation of one’s self. I am saddened by how miscegenation produced women whose hair was considered “good” as it was straighter and softer in nature and appearance.
From long locks to relaxed short haircuts to weaves to natural cropped manes, as long as the hair enhances inner beauty...that’s all that matters. What this book reinforced for me is that hair and culture are two important components of an individual’s identity that should be deemed and respected as a form of personal expression. However, although hair and the styles we impose on it are an important part of individuality, they are not the sole component of what makes us unlike any one else.
May we all express ourselves through the beauty God has bestowed on us!! Excellent read!!
February 9, 2010
I've had this book for a long time, since around 2002. Over the years I've read and re-read it many times, usually when I'm making my own hair journey or reflecting on past shared experiences that many if not all Black Women have gone through.
This book came out way before the Chris Rock movie, "Good Hair" but through the short stories it addresses many of the issues Black women have had with their hair over many generations. Since I have some time off, I've decided to read it again today, for memories, laughs and the joy of having nappy, kinky, curly hair.
I salute my African/Native American ancestors for giving me naturally beautiful hair that is as diverse and complex as I am.
This book came out way before the Chris Rock movie, "Good Hair" but through the short stories it addresses many of the issues Black women have had with their hair over many generations. Since I have some time off, I've decided to read it again today, for memories, laughs and the joy of having nappy, kinky, curly hair.
I salute my African/Native American ancestors for giving me naturally beautiful hair that is as diverse and complex as I am.
January 27, 2015
Even though many of the pieces in this book are available from other sources, I'm really glad that I read it as a whole. My favorites essays were 'Severed' by Annabelle Baker, 'Dekar's Touch' by Pamela Johnson, and 'In the Kitchen' by Jewelle Gomez; additionally the accompanying artwork is beautiful. The genuine and loving voices in this book are not heard often in our world. This book offers support to black folk and education to those outside of the community and is a wonderful general reference.
September 8, 2012
Loved this book. The narratives are diverse, yet still connected and relatable. I do think my e-book version was not formatted correctly so I'm sure if the hard copy book had visuals to accompany some of the text. I had to do some online research for images of the styles the narrators would reference. However, I'm not allowing it to impact my overall content rating of this literary keeper. 5 stars all the way!
Want to read
November 18, 2008I saw this at the book fair. It's a compilation of literature excerpts from some authors I recognize, and others I don't, all having to do with her self image and hair.
August 15, 2010
This book is true to its name and is a collection of material that explores hair. Strsight hair, kinky hair, good hair, bad hair, and all in-be-tween hair.
July 29, 2013
A celebratio of black hair. I love the stories that I read in this book.
February 22, 2008
A fun read of stories!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews